CHAPTER III
MY ACQUAINTANCE WITH LIONS
For many thousands of years lions have appeared
in literature and art as savage and
ferocious animals. For about that length of
time man has been attacking lions and when the
lions fought back man has set down this judgment
against them. At the same time, with the criticism
of his savagery, man has put in all his records testimony
to the courage, strength, and fighting qualities
of what has been called through the ages the King
of Beasts.
The lion's savagery is very much the same as man's—that is, he kills other animals for food and not having developed any specialized industries like the packers, each lion kills for himself. His day's work, instead of getting money to buy food, consists chiefly in getting food, and he goes about it something in this manner. About dusk he comes out from his resting place, yawns, stretches, and looks about for something to eat. In East Africa his favourite diet is zebra, but he likes any of the game animals, and he prefers the larger animals to the smaller antelope because the larger ones are easier to catch. His intention is to get his food the easiest and quickest way. He goes out on the plains and by scent, sight, and
